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OPINION

Veterans with PTSD need easier access to cannabis

After serving overseas in the Air Force in 2008-2009, I returned home, like many of our nation’s veterans, with post-traumatic stress disorder. I was placed on five daily medications that turned me into a zombie and leaving me emotionally numb.

Online, I learned other vets were finding success combating their PTSD with marijuana. I was unfamiliar with cannabis, and eventually, I sought it out on the illicit market. I was amazed by how it benefited me. I no longer suffered from anxiety, my energy returned, and I was able to sleep at night. After six months of treatment with cannabis, I found I did not even need my depression medication.

I knew Delaware had a medical marijuana program, so I attempted to enroll. However, under current law, in order to seek this treatment for PTSD, patients must obtain a certification from a psychiatrist — although no other medical condition requires a specialist’s certification.

It took me eight months to locate a psychiatrist to certify me for the program. Because the federal government still classifies cannabis in the same schedule as heroin, medical research has been limited, and medical schools rarely train doctors on this treatment option. Veterans Affairs physicians are not allowed to recommend cannabis, and the $250 cost of my appointment is out of reach for many veterans.

Then, I had to pay the $125 application fee to enroll in our state’s program. While opioid overdoses kill tens of thousands of people each year — and there has never been a single documented case of death from an overdose of marijuana in history — there is no “enrollment” requirement for an opioid program under state law.

After I finally had my medical marijuana card, I was ready to purchase cannabis at our state’s single dispensary location, over an hour’s drive from my home. However, due to my demanding schedule (I have four small children), the only time I could find to visit the dispensary was on Saturday mornings, forcing me to choose between tee-ball practice, dance lessons, and the medicine I needed.

At the dispensary, the cannabis strains that work best for me are often sold out. Even ensuring I am one of the first patients served, I am still often unable to acquire the cannabis preparations that work best for me. A second dispensary is slotted to open soon in Delaware, but that is owned by the same company as the first, and will likely tax the supply of cannabis, stretching it between the two facilities, virtually guaranteeing that patients will be left without the relief we need.

When I am unable to access cannabis, my PTSD symptoms come back, and I may spend the rest of my life suffering from this condition. Every time I turn on the news, it triggers my PTSD. Cannabis is the only thing that helps me reintegrate into civilian life — pharmaceuticals do not. I will never be the person I was before deployment, but my daily life does not be so hard. Veteran suicide rates are shockingly high, and women vets are almost two-and-a-half times as likely to take their life as compared to our civilian counterparts. Veterans need this treatment option.

The solution here is simple. Delaware should follow the other eight states plus D.C. that have ended cannabis prohibition by enacting Rep. Helene Keeley’s HB 110 to tax and regulate cannabis like alcohol for adults ages 21 and over. By taking this step, we would give patients like me access to treatment without having to jump through expensive red tape. HB 110 would also provide for more locations where we can obtain our medicine, saving us long drives.

I went overseas to protect our freedom — now I need the freedom to choose life-saving cannabis.

SSgt Kimberly M. Petters is a retired member of the United States Air Force, and the Founder of Women Veterans Collective.